A fond farewell to Taku Iwasa
Unfortunately some sad news to report today. Taku Iwasa announced his retirement at the latest Buyuden due to injuries sustained to his neck. Shingo Takagi and fans apparently managed to talk him out of an actual retirement and to take an indefinite leave of absence, but it would appear a return would seem unlikely.
Iwasa was an original T2P graduate but took his time really finding his place in the roster. After failing to form his own stable with Raimu Mishima, known as Iwasa Gundam, he and Mishima formed one of the most successful comedy duos in recent wrestling memory known as the Florida Brothers. He and Mishima adopted over the top American personas and would win their matches by feigning chair attacks from their opponents leading to disqualifications in their favour. Their promos also consisted of great comedic moments with their use of broken english.
While the Florida Brothers were inarguably popular, it was inevitable that both Iwasa and Mishima must move forward with their careers. Mishima was to become Dr Muscle and join the then top heel group Muscle Outlawz but unfortunately injuries forced him into retirement. Iwasa on the other hand joined new Dragon Gate NEX member Akira Tozawa and became a member of Tozawajuku along with Dragon Gate mainstay, Kenichiro Arai. Iwasa and Arai began pairing as a tag team which lead to a revitalisation both wrestlers including a reign with the Twin Gate belts. Some would say that they are one of the best tag teams Dragon Gate has produced and I find that a tough point to argue against.
After the dissolution of Tozawajuku, Iwasa joined the newly formed KAMIKAZE group led by Shingo Takagi. Here he has seen success in the triangle division but injuries have unfortunately plagued him to the point where we currently stand.
Of course it is not unheard of that wrestlers can come back after serious neck injuries, I mean, just look at Yasushi Kanda, who was forced to retire for over 2 years due to neck injuries. Hopefully Iwasa will stay around in Dragon Gate in some administrative capacity until he is ready to return, but so far no news has been made about such a thing. KAMIKAZE and Dragon Gate in general will certainly miss one of the brightest stars in the company, as of course, will all of us.
Get well soon Taku!
Jae said in his website that Iwasa could comeback,perhaps.I hope that because he’s an awesome wrestler.
Otherwise,you forgot to answer me why Yamato does not use anymore the hidalgo move?.I know that the wrestlers change their move set with the years,but they sometime execute their old moves.To me,hidalgo was a beautiful move and i miss it.
Is it true that Tozawa has had backstage problems because he was too fat?.What are your toughts on the fact his finisher is still the german suplex.His german suplex is cool to watch,but he’s not a young lion anymore and he should have an other lethal move,in his arsenal.I will be fine if it was the finisher of Kenshin Chikano,but tozawa should have an other finisher,in my mind.
What happened to the guy who played cyber kongcito?.He has been fired or what?.I know that before this gimmick ,he has an other in which he wrestled in a small underwear,ugh,that was awful.
You told me that super shisa is a trainer.But he seems to be to be young to be a coach,as i could see when Kzy take of his mask,in infinity 145.How old is he?.
Who is the guy under the mask of Shisa boy?.
Is true that was a wresler under the gimmick of lupin,before?.If yes,was he a good wrestler?.
What were your thoughts when shingo and hulk captured the ghc jr tag belts,last year?.And on the match vs kenta and ishimori?.For me,it was an awesome match.
What is the weight limit for the brave gate belt?.I believe this is a junior belt,but the weight should not be the same as the others promotions,because there is a lot of junior heavyweights in dragon gate(normally,the weight limit is 100kg in the others puro promotions)
Finally,which puro promotion,do you watch minus dragon gate.Personally,i watch njpw,ajpw and noah,and i love their heel stable chaos,the vodoo murders and disobey(ok,i hate gurentai).
While Iwasa certainly CAN come back, I think we have to assume that his absence could be a long one. More like years rather than months. Hopefully the fact he has future Dream Gate potential will give him the motivation needed. Of course, it’s not all down to motivation though…
Regarding the hidalgo, I really couldn’t say why he stopped using it.
The Tozawa situation is a bit of a difficult one. He didn’t get in trouble backstage because of his weight. That was just a big mistake on his part. He put on weight because of Yuki Ono, a fellow NEX grad who was in Tozawajuku with him. Ono was a big guy and was gaining some momentum where Tozawa was struggling and Tozawa saw his weight as his strength, so vowed to balloon up to Ono size. He went on a crazy metabolic diet and became grotesquely fat in a really short amount of time. Unfortunately it just served to make him take a step back rather than forward. However, Ono had made no friends backstage at all and was getting used less and less so Tozawa decided to lose weight and concentrate on wrestling again.
The issue was though that Tozawa has a big mouth and pissed off a few key people backstage. CIMA was one that I particularly remember. I don’t know if you remember but when CIMA was out with his neck injury Tozawa was getting a lot of wins. As soon as he comes back he is getting pinned in all his matches. This was pretty common before also. It’s really only due to Tozawa’s power with the fans that he is still a ranking member of the roster imo.
As for Cyber Kongcito… well that was the aforementioned Yuki Ono. Unfortunately, the fact he wasn’t liked backstage, coupled with his contract status (he wasn’t a full member of DG like Tozawa) meant he was hardly ever getting used. Then the Cora situation happened and it is believed he was one of the implicated individuals so chances are he will never work for DG again. No big loss though if you ask me.
I don’t know how old SAITO is but he isn’t that young. Probably in his early to mid 40s. Shisa Boy debuted as that gimmick so it is unknown who he is (it’s probably not even important).
Lupin was actually a good wrestler yes. He had a cool entrance too (he would descend from a rope ladder from a balcony). Unfortunately he also suffered from lots of injuries and was forced to retire.
Shingo and Hulk winning the titles made sense based on their status within the company and overall and I actually liked their match with KENTA and Taiji (I think that was the first time Taiji was in a DG ring since he left Toryumon X). However, they really missed the boat not capitalising on the massive amount of heat Shingo had with KENTA. Instead they put KENTA against Doi and it was lame. BIG mistake.
I think the Brave Gate limit is 82 or 83 kg. It is certainly a junior belt but since Yoshino held it for so long it got a lot of prestige in the higher ranks. Luckily it is back where it belongs.
I currently only watch Dragon Gate. I used to watch NJPW and a bit of NOAH but I don’t have time for anything else these days. I also don’t watch any American wrestling either.
Such a big loss… I remember the first time I watched Dragon Gate Infinity, and I saw Yuki Ono shaving his head, and Iwasa “saving him”.
Since then, I followed closely his matches, and I marked so bad to his Lariat, the “Gouwan”.
I will miss Iwasa u__u
Ok,seth thank you.
Nevertheless,you forgot to answer me on what do you think about tozawa and the german suplex(watch what i said to you in my last mail just above on this page).
Otherwise,is it true that saito has had a bicyclist gimmick,when he was younger.If this the case that was weird,no?.
You explained to me that Tozawa is a guy who he’s not affraid to say what he thinks.Does his current gimmick of a nervous guy come from this?.Personally,i love when he screams during his matches,that give him a unique character.
A japanese friend of mine told me that in japan,the audience of dragon gate is mainly girls and women.Is this true?.It might be the case because in the ppvs,the third announcer is often a woman.
You told me that lupin was a good wrestler,but did he had sideburns and a red coat like the character of the anime?.Was his character also a thief?.It might be funny if this was the case.
Why cyber kong has a fruit with him?.Is there a storyline behind this?.
Why Arai enters with this mask of fireman,now?.
Do you think that Kenshin Chikano has a bright future in dragon gate?.
Why do you not like very much susumu?.He’s a good wrestler,in my mind.
Why tanisaki stopped his surfer gimmick?.When was it and why?.
I forgot to ask you why the real hazard come to the ring in the dark, like the undertaker of wwe?.They also come from hell,in the storyline or what?.It might be a parody or something like that,perhaps?.
Even if it’s not my business, I’ll try to answer you ^^”
REAL HAZARD members are bad guys. They do not come from hell, they just act like bad guys, they make their appearance look weird/”bizarre”, thus making them look like they are renegates.
Cyber Kong always has the pineapple with him, since NEW HAZARD. Consider it like a part of his gimmick : he has enough strength to rip a pineapple with his bare hands. That requires many strength to do that. Thus, that makes him a powerhouse. It’s like The Sandman with his Kendo stick.
To my mind, Tozawa reminds me of a younger MINORU (without the technique that MINORU has, I was talking about the charisma).
Re: The german, yes he probably should have a different/new finisher but bare in mind that Fujii’s finisher is also a german suplex. I don’t believe there is a correlation, I’m just saying you don’t need to be a young lion to have a basic move as a finisher.
I think you don’t quite understand Tozawa’s gimmick right now. He isn’t a nervous guy. In fact quite the opposite. When he shouts at his opponent it is more like a war cry and it stuns them because of it’s power. There is actually a martial artist in Japan who teaches this technique for real so I suspect that he has based this on this. On the whole though, how Tozawa is right now I think probably isn’t that far from his real personality, but that’s just a guess.
Saito’s first gimmick was indeed a cyclist. It wasn’t that weird because at the time pretty much everyone in the company had weird gimmicks. This used to be one of Toryumon’s trademarks and to be honest, I kinda miss it. It really made Toryumon unique to all the other promotions.
Dragon Gate’s audience is most definitely mostly women yes. Probably because of the young handsome guys that wrestle in it. Does this affect your enjoyment of it? Personally I couldn’t care less as long as I’m enjoying the product.
As for Lupin, yes sorry I should have gone into a bit more detail on that. He was indeed based on the Lupin III and had the sideburns and outfit etc. He looked pretty accurate too actually.
Susumu is indeed a good wrestler, but the reason I don’t like him is his severe lack of personality. No matter what is happening he has the exact same expression on his face. That’s really it all comes down to to be honest.
Inutachi kind of touched on the Cyber Kong thing but I’ll just elaborate a bit. Kong’s original gimmick was basically like he was a gorilla (hence the Kong part). He looks more like a gladiator now but it wasn’t always the case. The pineapple is brought out because it’s the sort of thing that a gorilla might eat but mostly, as Inutachi said, it’s to show off his strength. I don’t know if you saw the Cyber Kong vs Cyber Ryo match, but Ryo tried to pull apart the pineapple too and couldn’t do it.
Chikano definitely has a bright future yes. Already in a top stable and he’s just out of training. He didn’t even go through the NEX class like some others so clearly Dragon Gate see something in him. It’s a shame that RYOMA had to get messed up in the cora thing but I think Chikano had more potential than RYOMA anyway.
Arai wears the gas mask to look cool – nothing more.
I actually don’t know why Naoki stopped being a surfer other than the fact that most of the time wrestlers in Dragon Gate tend to just outgrow gimmicks that are put on them. Also, remember Naoki left DG for a long time and has only just returned.
Thanks,for the response Inutachi ,it was very nice to share your knowledge with me.By the way,you tell me that Tozawa has the same type of charisma than Minoru,and i think that is quite right.Minoru Tanaka is my favorite puro wrestler and in my mind Tozawa is also charismatic,he could become a big deal sooner or later.
Otherwise,Seth,the current gimmick of Tozawa is based on the legendary fighting spirit of the japaneses that we could see in the mangas and the anime,right?.It’s the same thing that you told me?.
It’s not bother me at all that the audience is mainly of women,i was just curious to know if it was really the case or not.
You guys told me that Kong is a sort of gorilla or gladiator.But why his name is Cyber,then?.I thought that he was a sort of robot.I know that japanses loves robots and i thought that his name,his mask and even the lines on his body,wanted to give us the impression that he was a sort of cyborg,in fact.It’s strange that this is not the case.
Why Gamma has an attack with water?.He’s a good wrestler but i hate this attack called evian,ugh.Is there a storyline behind this?.
What is the name of the fireman carry slam that kzy execute on infinty 143?.It’s a beautiful move !.
No Saito’s first gimmick was Super Shisa.
You’re welcome Ryo ^^
To my mind, if you hear the word “Cyber”, you think indeed “robot”. And a robot is powerful, cannot be “destroyed”, is dangerous, etc etc. And that’s what Cyber Kong wants us to think about him with his name.
Gamma is the most disgusting wrestler ever, but one of the funniest I’ve seen in Dragon Gate ^^” I think it’s called Sweet Angel Kiss (I can be wrong though).
And thanks for the info about the pineapple, Seth ^^
I haven’t seen the Ryo vs Kong, but Cyber Ryo & Cyber Kong vs BxB Hulk & BxB Fujii XD
Joseph ==> There is Ryo Saito and SAITO.
Super Shisa is Yoshiyuki Saito, whereas the bicyclist gimmick was played by Ryo Saito (the current co-leader of REAL HAZARD).
I thought that was K-Ness.
K-ness is Makoto Saito, Super Shisa is Yoshiyuki Saito and the byciclist was Ryo Saito.
K-ness originally was called MAKOTO and was in Crazy MAX until he was kicked out and later returned as Darkness Dragon.
So three different people.
Hi seth,
you forgot to answer to my questions in my last mail,which is above the severals mails of inutachi and joseph.I was talking to you about gamma,mainly.
The whole Gamma thing runs over from when he was a heel. Spit offense was one of his main things to get heel heat way back then and it unfortunately stuck when he became a face. I have always been a massive Gamma fan but I’m definitely not a fan of the spitting. The evian move isn’t nearly as bad as when he would spit on both hands and rub it in his opponent’s face. I haven’t seen that in a while so I think maybe (hopefully it’s gone).
Regarding Cyber Kong, he probably is/was meant to be cybernetic at some point. Maybe still is. Your observation is most likely correct.
I’m afraid I don’t know the name of the Kzy move you refer to.
@ Ryo Saeba: i believed Kzy’s fireman carry slam to powerbomb called beat boom, i think it’s his finisher along with KZ time (frog splash) and the C-DJ (sunset flip bomb). It’s a good move for him to join RH and i started noticing him since then
back to the main topic, i think is a big loss for Iwasa and DG. Iwasa is a great wrestler and have a set of good maneuver, the Noshigami he gave PAC during the triangle gate on Kobe Hall was amesome.
And correct me if i’m wrong i think this time (since joining KAMIKAZE) is the highest point of Iwasa’s career. Ive seen once before his reign with Arai with the twin gate and they have a great chemistry together and ive read some good stuff about his previous career as well. i hope.. yes, he pulls a kanda and become a better contender in the future. thunbs up to Taku Iwasa
Sorry if i got the info wrong bcs this is my first year of the dragon, i used to only watch NJPW since im a really big fan of Milano. when i traced back his career i found out that he was from the dojo called Toryumon and at that time it have became DG. At my first glance, there i knew where Milano got his savvy creative set of maneuver from cos most of the guys and DG have them!
My DG dream match is i wish Milano vs Doi for dream gate! like kanemoto did back then. Or at least since i heard the rumour that Yoshino might be wrestling as the tarzan gimmick once in the next World-1 show,it would be great to see they’re back as ItaCon one more time.
Or wont it happen? Im not sure about why he left DG, I hope it wasn’t a bad terms cos that means no chance at all. Ive seen his early year matches and he’s good but only gave a triangle reign. no twin, brave or even dream match? im believed that he’s good enough for it. Jushin Liger is one of the best and was a dream gate champion before but i think if Milano got the chance he’ll make a better contender.
It would be great if somebody can help me explain this situation cos i’m new here
I only can say my first year of DG is amazing and i hope it will be better and better
Thanks,for your response Alva.
The mail of alva made me think to ask you another question,Seth.It’s also my first year that i watch dragon gate,and i have heard that ajpw wrestlers Taru,Shuji kondo and the retired Brother yashii wrestled in dragon gate before.
Were they great wrestlers in this promotions?.In my mind,they were probably heel,because they are better like this.Was it the case?.
Your welcome man^^
if i may join the discussion as well. From what i know yes the Aagan Lisou Kondo and Yasshi follow their DG’s TARY in AJPW since they kicked out of Toryumon, im not clear about the reason might be booking or behaviour problem
All started as VDM, Yasshi and TARU did average in AJPW while Kondo is doing great reign as the Jr. champion and became much better then after he was pushed as face and became one of the Jr. ace in the company
I guess I should welcome you all to Dragon Gate then
Alva: I don’t think the Milano situation is really that clear other than he probably knew he could be more successful in New Japan. I don’t believe he left on bad terms, but I think the likelihood of him making a return at very slim at best.
While, back in Toryumon he didn’t hold any of the singles titles, they meant a lot less back then. Toryumon was famous for it’s six-man tag matches (really you should try and watch some because if you like Dragon Gate’s then you will be blown away by Toryumon’s). So Milano holding the six man belts is a bigger deal than the singles title (comparatively speaking of course – the UDG title was always the last on the major cards still). Milano did hold the nwa international light hw belt during T2P though, but it wasn’t ever defended outside of T2P (I think CIMA won it in a T2P ring but later just got rid of it).
I think if Milano were to return to DG he’d obviously be a shoe-in for the Dream Gate since he ranks almost at the same level as CIMA I’d say (maybe a little lower but not much). I don’t think Milano/Doi would be a dream match for me but to each his own ;)
Ryo/Alva: The Aagan story and the TARU story are kinda long but I’ll do my best to be as succinct as possible.
When Toryumon became Dragon Gate there were a few within the locker room who were really opposed to it. The most notable one was SUWA. Soon after the change he decided to leave stating that Dragon Gate had become something along the lines of “gay dancers wrestling” promotion (Do FIXER was a big deal back then). Shortly after this TARU also decided to leave causing the end of Crazy MAX.
However around the same time Aagan Iisou (Shuji Kondo, Brother Yassi, Takuya Sugawara) were becoming a big force as the main heel stable in DG. Not much is known about why but something happened outside of the promotion that led DG to let them all go. Apparently they were not acting like professionals and some unknown incident was the final straw so they were fired. This was a really big deal at the time and really caused major shockwaves.
They went on to dragondoor which later became El Dorado and stayed there until it too closed it’s doors late last year (I think – I’ve lost track).
So yes, they were all T2P grads just like Milano and were part of the Italian Collection along with Yoshino, Yagi (now a ref and former booker) and Berlineta Boxer (yes… he was named after the car). Sugawara wasn’t ever of course since he was in the Royal Brothers with Mori.
So if you like all these guys you should definitely watch the T2P series I’ve been posting as, in my opinion, all of them were at their best when wrestling the T2P style.
Thanks man, it’s very clear about thye Milano situation for me now. And you’re right.. i’ve been and always be blown away by DG’s triangle match. in fact one of my first DG match was the Unit split matches where all the stables fought for their survival and that was really amazing match.
You remind me something, yes i did want Doi/Milano for the Dream Gate match cos i want to see him in his glory days again cos i think he’s kinda stuck in the Jr. tag division now and didnt really make great progress, but for me he still good though cos he always somehow come up with a new moves which impress me and decide to still stick with him. But for a great match i prefer CIMA/Milano match. Both have a really creative set of maneuver and i feel they will have a great chemistry as the battle of the aces.
It make sense that you say his chance to show up is slim but i still hope with a finger crossed ;)
Thanks for the infos man, youre the best
Ok,thanks for the response.
By the way,i know that matt sydal has been brave gate champion,when he was a freelancer.I believe that he’s the only american who has won a belt in dragon gate.
Was he really a big deal when he was in dragon gate?.
Is it true that dragon gate tried to give him a contract,when his roh contract finished,2 years ago(he prefered to go to wwe,ugh).
What do you think of the return of El Generico,soon?.Is he well liked in dragon gate(i know that he was in the faction of tozawa juku).
I also know that kevin steen,austin aries and jack evans have also wrestled for dragon gate.Were they liked when they go there?.
Do you know that young kokoto shiba?.He’s in dragon gate nex.
Is it true that Shingo shaved his head because of that Cora thing?.It’s jae who suppose this on his site
Yes ,i forgot to ask why the finisher of genki is still called the beach break.They could change this name for a long time now.
Oh yes, i also wondering about Kotoka Shiiba. I think he’s great and did a lot of job lately but hey everybody once a jobber (i think
) he’s gonna be great once he graduate from NEX
Speaking about NEX i’m curious about RYOMA and Kenshin Chikano. I knew RYOMA was out cause the Cora problem and i thought he was fired until i saw him with a shaved head as well like Shingo on one of the DG’s blog. I hope he’ll back on action again in the near future once the situation calm down. Shame though cos i think he’s gonna be a good prospect even not as good as Chikano. How about him? i didn’t really hear anything happen or perhaps miss it like and injury maybe? He’s just out of the picture lately
@Ryo Saeba: I think it’s true that Shingo shave his head cause of the Cora situation since i heard they had the public apology and came with the head shaved. Im not sure about what Shingo really did but i heard RYOMA got the biggest problem than others
Alva:
When I say Milano/Doi isn’t really a dream match of mine it isn’t because of Milano. I love Milano and would LOVE for him to return. I’m just not holding any hope. To be honest I could see a Magnum Tokyo return before I saw Milano back.
Milano and CIMA have had several matches in the past. During the T2P vs Toryumon days the main focus was actually on IttaCon vs CMAX. Since both are the heads of their factions and aces within their groups they were often the most common focus. You’re right though – there was definitely great chemistry between them.
Ryo:
Sydal was pretty big in DG but really only because he was a charismatic gaijin. He was very solid in the ring though and so had great success there. I hadn’t heard that DG offered him a contract but he chose WWE so I can’t comment on that.
Return of El Generico? Meh whatever. Don’t really care to be honest. I don’t dislike him, but I don’t really like him either. I think he needs to buff up a bit. Steen and Aries were indeed in DG but only for a short time and I believe it was only because of WrestleJAM. Aries battled for the Brave Gate I think. Neither really caused any ripples in the company.
I don’t know too much about Kotoka Shiiba. We will have to see how he does in the coming months.
It is indeed believed that Shingo shaved his head because of the Cora situation, but I had heard that it was also because of a bad haircut gone wrong. Hard to say which is true. He wasn’t at the press conference formally apologising for the ordeal so it is hard to say. If I remember correctly the people who officially shaved their heads because of the Cora thing were CIMA, KAGETORA and RYOMA. Although it is believed that Yuki Ono was another person implicated.
RYOMA will be out for a year as punishment so don’t expect to see him soon. I’m not sure where Chikano is these days. He hasn’t been seen since July and I haven’t heard any rumblings of injuries so I really couldn’t say. Hopefully he will return soon.
Genki’s beach breaker is still called that because… well why not? He’s been using it his whole career so doesn’t really make sense to change the name. Everyone knows it as Beach Breaker so may as well keep calling it that. Yoshino still calls his submission Sol Naciente even though he hasn’t been Italian for a long time. Moves names seem to stick long after gimmicks have gone and I’m personally glad. It seems weird when move names change (ie the now E rated John Cena).
Personally,i’m a fan of generico.Yes,his mask is not very beautiful ,he’s not a muscle man like cima,but he’s fun to watch,because he can wrestle and he’s quite funny in my opinion,unlike stalker ichikawa or the florida brothers who are just lame,in my mind.
The only comedy guy that i like in dragon gate is super shenlong.His mask thing since the last ppv is quite funny.
Otherwise,Seth,how many infinty do you receive per months?.
You guys ask Seth an awful lot of questions
i’m sure gotta catch up DG in the T2P days as well. Thx for clearing that up man sorry if i asked y lots of question. Its just the language difference thing made me slow to catch up the history as newbie ;)
It’s cool, ask as many questions as you like. Always happy to help.
Personally the only comedy guy I like (I guess apart from Shenlong as I feel he will be graduating from that soon) is Sychahiko Machine. I can’t say I really like the others.
Ryo: I don’t really know how many I receive a month. I just post them when I get them and don’t really pay attention to the when so much.
a damn shame about Iwasa I hope we start seeing him as a referee much like kanda, so he will stay in people’s minds.
i don’t like the fact that they got el generico to temporarly fill his role, i hope they betray generico right away or give him a japanese gimmick because he should NOT be in KAMIKAZE.
You’re right actually… KAMIKAZE is supposed to be pure blood Japanese. Even though it’s totally racist, I have to agree that they shouldn’t have placed him in that group.
Saying that though he wouldn’t fit in W-5 and W1 already has a visiting gaijin.
Maikeru! And Daneru! And Kenskee!
This might seem like a very stupid question to yourself and many others, but why did Ultimo Dragon leave the promotion after the 5th Anniversary Show in 2004?
I don’t think he has wrestled in a DG ring since so I am assuming that it was an ugly split.
So, what went down here?
Thanksgiving tomorrow
Dragon Kid:
It’s not entirely known why the split happened, but I think mostly it was down to creative differences. Ultimo usually had pretty outlandish booking that many possibly didn’t agree with so a split occurred. Most likely he was forced out but since he owned Toryumon he took the name with him.
The chances of you seeing him in a DG ring are between slim and none.